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Sports Logos Change, But the Racism Stays the Same (A Visual Timeline)

In a chart earlier this month, USA Today took a look at the use of Native American iconography in popular sports team logos over time (sorry, no one cares about your high school). According to their stats, more than two-thirds of high schools and colleges in the country have changed their mascots, but there are five professional teams that have chosen to hold out: the Braves, the Redskins, the Cleveland Indians, the Chicago BlackHawks, and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The chart that USA Today created features a visual timeline of those five teams and how their logos have changed over the past century. Teams like the Braves and the Chiefs got rid of the Native American figure but kept the arrowhead and tomahawk imagery, while the Indians kept their name, but opted for the letter "C" instead of the problematic "Red Man" face.

USA Today credits Indians fan Dennis Brown with giving the eternal argument new legs when he posted a photo of his jersey on Twitter with the team's "Chief Wahoo" patch un-stitched from the sleeve.

#Dechief'ing became a thing on social media, and the news outlet reached out to the teams for comment. The Indians said in a statement: "We are very cognizant and sensitive to both sides of the conversation — our fans' deep, long lasting attachment to the memories associated with Chief Wahoo and those who are opposed to its use... We continue to research our fan base to better understand their perception and stance on the logo, but at present time have no plans of making a change. We will continue to have the Wahoo logo represented on our uniforms and home cap during the 2014 season."